Conservative Catholic bishops are distancing themselves from a document showing an unprecedented opening toward gays and divorced people, saying it doesn't reflect their views and vowing to make changes to the final version.

The provisional document produced at the halfway point of a two-week meeting at Vatican City about family life said gays had gifts to offer the church and that their partnerships, while morally problematic, provided gay couples with "precious" support.

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It said the church must welcome divorced people and recognize the "positive" aspects of civil marriages and even Catholics who cohabit.

Amid an outcry from conservatives, organizers of the synod insisted Tuesday that the document was merely a working paper that would be amended.

"At this point in time, the Synod of Bishops is in the preliminary discussion stage. Synods always involve open discussions among bishops about matters of the Church, and they do not have power to legislate. It would be premature to comment on any aspect of the current discussions taking place during the synod," said a statement from Greensburg Bishop Lawrence Brandt. "This synod is not designed to reach definite conclusions about matters such as divorced and remarried Catholics, cohabitating couples and homosexuals. It is designed to set the agenda for a Synod of Bishops to be held Oct. 4-25, 2015, at the Vatican."